On Feb. 26, 27, 28, (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday), the Hillcrest Congregational Church, United Church of Christ will host the 50th Festival of Fine Arts. As you might imagine, there are many preparations under way.

But the arts are celebrated by many people – art societies, museums, collectors, artists, why a church?

Because we have chosen to see how God works with and through all of us, and through artists in particular. Through art, we are encouraged to look at how concepts are expressed in ways that can open our minds to new ideas, to beauty, to questions.

The art is part of, not separated from, the artist. The artist is part of, not separated from, the Creator/the Great Artist. If we acknowledge that we see the Great Artist through everything around us, then even through art that appears on the surface to be “secular,” we can see the Sacred.

Music, dance, sculpture, painting, poetry, woodwork, pottery, all forms of art, draw us in, evoke emotion, require us to stop and consider. They invite us to enjoy beauty, to explore imagination, to entertain new ideas, to inquire how things are made, to examine the emotions evoked, to consider what life consists of.

These are sacred, set-aside moments when we might find what is good and what is special about life.

During the festival we also get to watch the artists create and hear from artists like our featured artist Ernest Lacey who says, “I feel the need to express the sense of inherent order in the clutter and chaos of the daily world about me. I want to report and rejoice in what I see. Beauty is everywhere present.”

The children who come to the festival also get some hands-on experience at creating. Therefore the festival is one way that we can celebrate the connection between God and us, the connection between the artist and the art, and the connection between the Sacred and the secular.

Working together on the Festival of the Arts also brings a great sense of community for the members of the church. It fosters community, a koinonia, and brings together God’s people.

But during the festival the community becomes larger, drawing in volunteers and the artists. A diverse rainbow of God’s people join in bringing about something truly special.

And this special something also brings visitors to Hillcrest; a beautiful setting, a sacred place, with incredible art. When all are gathered, the hope, prayer and intent of the festival become reality.

It shows people that the creations of the artists, the artists, the workers, and the visitors, are truly all art of the Creator, beautiful, sacred and incredible.

Through us the Creator continues to create, and the Creator/Great Artist calls and invites us to be co-creators. Thanks be to God.

The Rev. Dr. Loletta M. Barrett is interim minister for the Hillcrest Congregational United Church of Christ.

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